My Graphic Driver Is Failing?

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Lichay

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Dec 17, 2015
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Hello!

I recently upgraded my rig, but a recurring problem seems to happen.
When under load (gaming, mostly) both my monitors turn black and stop responding.
the PC is still working, since i can pause and play videos that were still playing before the issue happened.

1 of my monitor is connected to my GPU (GTX 970)
and the other - to my mobo. (Asus Z170-E)
because one of my monitors is connected to the mobo, yet BOTH turn black, i was thinking that this is a graphic DRIVER issue, and not a graphic CARD issue.

i went to nVidia website and tried 4 different drivers available for my GPU and OS combo, but all have the same result - they all fail when under load. (there are a couple more to try, but i figured they would have the same result)
My solution to "fixing" this issue was to underclock my GPU. and for now everything seems fine. so I came here to basically ask this question:

Is my PSU failing to output enough power to my GPU, and thats why its crashing the driver?

I didnt upgrade my PSU when upgrading the rest of my rig, its about 8 years old. i didnt upgrade it because technically its 550W is plenty enough for my rig. but it is old, and if the pros (you) say that its failing, then i will upgrade it. i just dont wanna throw money at the problem just YET, when im not sure that the PSU is the problem.

EDIT: soo, after my gf mentioned it might be guild wars 2 (gw2), i played some witcher 3 to see if i'd crash. and i didn't. which brought me to google "black screen while playing gw2". and it seems all i needed to do was open some ports to gw2 in my router's firewall XDD
seems to work perfectly now. thanks for the help though!
 
Solution
O
You could download something like HWMonitor, if you haven't already, to check the voltages on the rails. If the minimum and/or maximum values it reads vary greatly from the standard 3.3, 5 and 12V rails then it's advisable to start shopping for a new PSU. That would at least give you some indication before having to spend any money.

But cutting out when under load probably indicates a power issue. I'd also suggest checking temperatures of your components too while you're at it.
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Obakasama

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You could download something like HWMonitor, if you haven't already, to check the voltages on the rails. If the minimum and/or maximum values it reads vary greatly from the standard 3.3, 5 and 12V rails then it's advisable to start shopping for a new PSU. That would at least give you some indication before having to spend any money.

But cutting out when under load probably indicates a power issue. I'd also suggest checking temperatures of your components too while you're at it.
 
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Lichay

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Dec 17, 2015
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Oh nice. I didnt know of a voltage monitoring software. I'll try it!
Quick question tho: how much of a difference would u classify as "vary greatly"?

Also, according to MSI afterburner, my temps are ~70°C on the GPU and ~60°C on the CPU while under load. So im doing fine there.

EDIT: using HWMonitor, at the +12v, min was 11.90v and max was 12.10v
The +3.3v went to a max of 3.95v
and GPU's min was 0.830v

all of that while playing while my GPU is underclocked so that it doesnt crash.
i did also un-underclocked it back to default, to try to spot a voltage 'spike' when there's a failure, but i couldn't spot anything during a failure. (tried multiple times with different overclocking clocks and voltages)
 
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Obakasama

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If memory serves there should be no more than a 5% difference in the +3.3 and +5V. So that reading of 3.95V would concern me. More information available here.

Personally, I would start looking for a new PSU to be on the safe side. It sounds like your current PSU has had a decent run. Check this as a guide for a new PSU.

EDIT: additional information about voltages here.
 
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Lichay

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Dec 17, 2015
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Alright. I ordered a new 650W bronze PSU. Its nothing special but it will power my 970 + 6600k.

Thx for the help.

P.S. It now started crashing even tho i underclock the GPU by a decent amount (-200 base & memory clock speeds). Seems i won't play till my new PSU arrives.
 
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Lichay

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Dec 17, 2015
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Yeah. It should arrive within a couple days, so not a biggie.

I heard of horror stories about PSU's failing and taking other components down with it, but i never knew how to spot a failing PSU to begin with. Thanks for all the help!
I'll update here once the new PSU arrives :)
 
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Obakasama

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I've had a PSU pop on me. Saw sparks and smelt the burning. Luckily the PC still functioned after a new PSU, but it has made me more aware of PSU longevity.

The new PSU should be more power efficient in its delivery too, which should resolve the cutting out issue you had.
 
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Lichay

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Dec 17, 2015
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mmk, so i got my new PSU and stuff looked well for awhile, but the crashes came back...

I'm pretty sure its the graphic driver from these facts:
1. it happens only while under GPU load (comp survived through a full night of prime95)
2. BOTH my screens turn black, even though 1 is connected to the GPU and the other to the integrated graphics.
3. the PC is still working. i can pause and play videos, i can hear the game that was running normally, and can even play (altho i cant rly see obviously)

so while the PSU wasnt the answer, im gonna at least be sound that nothing will break down due to a PSU failing.
in the mean time, i will try other drivers for the GTX 970 and win10 OS through nVidia's site. i will report back after i tried the drivers. (up until now i have been running the latest nvidia drivers to date, which is 376.19)
 
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Lichay

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Dec 17, 2015
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I thought I was doing a clean install when i ticked the "clean install" box at the nVidia graphic driver installation, but after reading a bit in the link you posted, it seems i was mistaken. i'll try it out when i got time and report back :)

currently i cant connect both monitors to my graphic card without an adapter since both monitors use an HDMI cable, and my GPU only has one HDMI socket.
seeing how i only game on the monitor which is connected to the GPU, i saw no problem with my configuration.
but if i am mistaken again, i suppose i could look around for an adapter, if it's necessary.

-i checked my RAM but it doesn't seem to be the problem.
-i also tried to use 2 separate cables for the GPU (since the 6+2 PCIe cable has a "daisy-chain" to another 6+2, i just used 1 cable since it had enough pins. but i just tried to use 2 separate cables to see if power delivery through the cable was a problem)
-i also tried to put my GPU in a different PCIe lane.

needless to say, none of them fixed my problem.
i also ran the heaven benchmark on my GPU (i reverted it back to default, so no OC or UC applied during the benchmark)
about 4 times in a row, and everything was stable. so im kinda lost here in terms of ideas...

P.S. are there any drivers i should check on from the mobo's support page? like BIOS or chipset or something?
there are no HDMI drivers there, if there's even such a thing...

EDIT: my GF thinks its the specific game i'm playing, that it's specifically guild wars 2 that's crashing the drivers. to me that sounds ridiculous. would like another person's insight on the matter though.

EDIT2: soo, after my gf mentioned it might be guild wars 2 (gw2), i played some witcher 3 to see if i'd crash. and i didn't. which brought me to google "black screen while playing gw2". and it seems all i needed to do was open some ports to gw2 in my router's firewall XDD
seems to work perfectly now. thanks for the help though!
 
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